The game has changed a lot since I launched Preshrunk in late 2004. According to Andy at Hide Your Arms, there’s over 150 t-shirt blogs out there now — and I’ll be damned if I can actually find more than a handful that are actually readable and worth following. Granted, there are a few “good blogs” out there — but the amount of coverage for poorly designed tees and really weak write-ups is pretty fucking dismaying.
Anyhow, I recently found myself coming to a crossroads of sorts. It was sparked by a bunch of mail from old, dedicated readers wondering where I’d gone. Questioning if I’d ever come back. Asking if I’d consider selling the site (with some pretty decent offers, I might add) or taking folks on as contributors to help get things going again.
So I found myself asking a very simple, but poignant question. Do I add more noise to the genre of blogging that I helped start, or do I pack it in? The money I’d get from cashing out would allow me to fund another project I’ve been working on instead of bootstrapping it — so that was a bit tempting.
Besides, six months without an update normally means a blog is “dead” in internet time. And regular readers will no doubt recall that I’ve staged so many comebacks at Preshrunk that it borders on ridiculous. But I still couldn’t leave my baby just sitting by the side of the road. Nor could I leave it in the care of someone I didn’t know. Kinda control freak of me, I know — but that’s always sort of been my way.
Despite my apparent disinterest tho, I never stopped thinking about Preshrunk. It was honestly a matter of time (and my poor allocation of it) more than anything. I have what amounts to half a moleskine of site ideas that I’ve sketched out and jotted down on the train. Most of them are actually implementable, too. New weekly features! New sites! New ways to fold in social features that don’t involve lazily adding “Digg This” buttons!
And they’re actually all coming. Well, that’s the plan at least… Right now, I’m concerned with getting content on the site and convincing people to come back more than anything. The bells and whistles can wait until later.
Speaking of bells and whistles, there’s a new theme up at Preshrunk now, but it’s not really expected to be permanent. In fact, if you know a solid, affordable WordPress designer, send them my way, won’t you? Some of the aforementioned ideas need something a bit more robust before they’re deployed.
Even if you don’t know a theme designer tho, it’d be nice if you can show some support. Read the blog. Add the Twitter feed. Spread the word.
Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to remind these kids where they came from…
